Putting the TRANS in Transformers!

Starscream was in a mood. A bad mood. Heck, Thundercracker hadn't seen him in such a bad mood since. . .scrap, since before the war ended. He was snapping at everyone, he had almost thrown a chair at Jazz(He had thrown an energon cube at Megatron, but Thundercracker hadn't exactly tried to stop him from doing that. The old mech had been being a jerk and deserved it.)

They had decided to take a break and have lunch at home, but Starscream was still. . .Not doing well.

Thundercracker sighed and watched Starscream from the door, the Mech was stomping and his wings were stiff, as if he were ready to take off at any moment, his fists were clenched, and he swore he could even hear his turbines warming up. But he wasn't screaming.

Now that was worrying. Star didn't exactly keep it in when he was angry about something. If he hadn't already started complaining to him then. . .he was worried about something. Something that he didn't want him to know about.

Thundercracker hummed and frowned, watching the other Seeker pace. He wished Skywarp was here, he was always better at getting Screamer to talk when he was worried, there was nothing like actual annoyance to get someone to say what they were fake mad about.

Well, Skywarp wouldn't be back for another Deca-cycle, so he would just have to do it his way.

He slowly walked up to his fuming Conjux, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Star?"

Starscream jumped. "Gah! What!" He screeched.

Thundercracker furrowed his brow, "Are you alright?"

Starscream shook off his hand and avoided his eyes, "I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine!" he said, crossing his arms.

Tc shook his head, "Star I can tell you're worried about something."

"I- I've never been worried about anything in my life!"

Tc just crossed his arms and raised a brow. Not one of Star's best lies. Actually, put that under Top Ten worst Starscream lies, right under "Has no fear."

Star's face scrunched up. Yeah, he definitely knew how bad it was, but stayed stubbornly silent.

Thundercracker sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Star, if you don't want to talk about it-"

"I just don't understand why you're still here!" Starscream blurted, uncrossing his arms and stomping a pede.

Tc blinked, what on Cybertron had that meant? "What?" Here in the house? Did Star expect him to just go back to work while he was still upset? That was ridiculous.

Star huffed. "The war's over Thundercracker." he said with finality, as if the words had some sort of hidden meaning that Tc wasn't privy to.

He shook his head. "I-I don't understand."

Star's faced scrunched up into an open mouthed scowl. "I accomplished nothing!" He said, swinging his arm in a negative motion. He pushed a digit into Thundercracker's chest. "I promised you the world! Your own kingdom! The riches that the council had stolen from us! I gave you nothing!" He screamed, "I'll never give you anything!"

He pointed to the general direction of Vos's ruins. "Vos is gone! The council's treasury is gone! I have no title! I have no land!" He put his arms down, and put them in front of him, making a clawing motion towards his chest, "No seat of power! Pits I'm lucky I have a house! His voice broke. "I'm nothing!"

He dropped his arms and chuckled weakly. "So. . .You don't have to stay with me anymore." he said, voice breaking.

Those promises certainly sounded familiar, they were things Star had told him when they were first conjuxed, even before they became a Trine with Skywarp but. . .

But those hadn't been actual promises, right? They had been romantic nonsense, right? Just the kind of thing you say to a new Conjux--ala "I'll give you the moon." Star didn't actually think he had stuck around for thousands of years because of-of promises of power or riches?

He couldn't actually mean it.

No.This was Star. He-he actually meant it. He actually thought-Oh Primus-"Star," he said, voice cracking. "No-No! I-I didn't stay with you just because of-"

"Of course you did!" He screeched, "Why else would you stay? I-I'm-" he seemed to choke on his words.

"Star?" Tc whispered, holding out a hand

"Defective."

"Starscream. . ." He muttered softly. What? Where had-Where had that even come from?

Thundercracker suddenly had the urge to just take him by the shoulders and yell "No! That's not true!" until the other believed him. But he resisted, this wasn't Skywarp, who would just be looking for reassurance with a statement like that. This was Starscream, and if he was saying something like that, then he actually believed it.

And Starscream was stubborn; especially when he was like this. Changing his mind would take some . . . finagling.

Luckily he's had a few thousand years of experience in wrangling Starscream's moods.

Thundercracker gently put his hand on Starscream's shoulders, and hummed. "You're not defective, "He started, ignoring Starscream's scoff, "And even if you were defective, what makes you think that would make me want to leave?"

Starscream squinted. "What?" he said, frowning.

Thundercracker smiled, "Maybe that's what I like about you. Maybe you remind me of me?"

Starscream frowned and his nose scrunched up. Bingo. "You are not defective!" he snarled, eyes lit brighter.

Thundercracker's eyelids lowered. "We share a spark don't we?" He whispered, moving to set his forehead on Starscream's. "We're each one piece of three." He set his hand on the side of Starscreams face and rubbed it with his thumb. "If one of us is defective then we all are. Right?"

"I-" He felt Starscream's hand on his arm, but continued to look in his optics. Starscream frowned, "That isn't how it works." he protested weakly.

Thundercracker hummed. "I mean, I think that's how it works." He leaned his forehead closer to Starscream's and wrapped his other arm around the back of his neck. "I mean, I'm not nearly as smart as you, but I feel like I would have Conjuxed someone similar to myself, wouldn't I?"

Starscream huffed and frowned. "You're plenty smart." He said. TC almost chuckled at that. Dork. He never let any of them say anything bad about themselves, saying things like it was simply "objectively untrue." but when it came to himself? Well, Thundercracker certainly wouldn't let that continue.

Thundercracker hummed again and smirked. "Well if I'm plenty smart and I chose you, and if you, me, and Skywarp all share one spark; then one of two things must be true." He smiled and rubbed his thumb against Starscream's face again. "Either we're all defective or. . ." He heavily set both or his servos onto Starscream's shoulders and looked at him, brow set. "Or none of us are defective, including you."

Starscream huffed. "That's. . .hard to believe." he said, looking away and shaking TC's servos from his shoulders.

"You don't have to believe it." He whispered. "Just. . .Hear it, yeah?"

Starscream chuckled weakly, "Fine," he said, shaking his head and smiling, "You're a stubborn aft, you know that?"

Thundercracker smirked and cocked his head up. "Of course! And you wouldn't want it any other way!